CHAMP

CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) was a German geoscience satellite mission led by GFZ with DLR and international contributions. Launched from Plesetsk on July 15, 2000, it combined precise GPS tracking, accelerometry, magnetometry and other instruments to investigate Earth’s gravity field, magnetic field and upper atmosphere. GPS radio occultation supplied vertical atmospheric and ionospheric profiles for weather and climate research, with near-real-time observations contributing to numerical forecasting. Its complementary payload and low near-polar orbit helped establish later satellite geodesy and geomagnetic observing methods. CHAMP reentered on September 19, 2010 after more than ten years of operation.